


(un)productive streak; a not-so gentle reminder to take an effin' break, man

by obstinateRixatrix



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, do not be fooled, this is actually Yusuke POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-12-16 12:59:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11829249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obstinateRixatrix/pseuds/obstinateRixatrix
Summary: Ryuji enters the studio, taking in the scene. The scene being Yusuke lying on the floor, in front of his easel, staring listlessly at the ceiling."Uh," Ryuji starts, after a significant pause, "what's... what are you doing?""Wallowing in the end of my artistic career," Yusuke replies.





	(un)productive streak; a not-so gentle reminder to take an effin' break, man

**Author's Note:**

> kind of a spiritual prequel to [life & likeness](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11496036), if you'd like
> 
> EDIT: [this fic has art!](http://spirostomum.tumblr.com/post/178090892096/)

Impulsivity is at once ill-suited, yet perfectly characteristic of Yusuke. He understands the need for caution, and perhaps hesitance has haunted his life for far too long, yet... well. When it comes to anything related to art, his impulse control is dubious at best. Nonexistent would be a more accurate description.

Occasionally, this results in quite a serendipitous outcome; impulsively pursuing someone who appeared to be the perfect model was what introduced Yusuke to the people that would free him from Madarame's shackles. In other, less favorable developments, he's left with a ruined canvas, a dearth of paint, and a surplus of regret.

"Yusuke, you in here? I— woah, what?"

Ryuji enters the studio, taking in the scene. The scene being Yusuke lying on the floor, in front of his easel, staring listlessly at the ceiling. On the easel is a painting with dense, violent swipes of obviously misplaced color streaking through it. In truth, the senseless waste of paint weighs on him more than the prospect of having to undo the self-inflicted damage to his work.

"Uh," Ryuji starts, after a significant pause, "what's... what are you doing?"

"Wallowing in the end of my artistic career," Yusuke replies. "You're interrupting. Is there an emergency."

"I mean, not really—?"

"Then leave me to it."

That response swings Ryuji's bafflement towards something closer to irritation. "Not gonna happen, dude. No one's seen you in days! Wouldn't be too bad if you, I dunno, _actually answered your phone,_ but— look," he cuts himself off, "can we not have this conversation with you on the floor? At least sit up."

"No."

"You _stubborn—_  fine," he huffs. Ryuji makes his way through the labyrinth of easels and stools, though from the sound of it, without much finesse. The scrape of metal against linoleum fills the air, accompanied by the occasional curse.

Eventually, Ryuji makes it. He sits crossed-legged on the floor, skirting the edge of Yusuke's periphery. "Do you want Makoto calling up your school?" he continues, once settled. "Because she will. Like, it's something she'll absolutely do if she thinks you're getting yourself into some kinda trouble." At that, there's a shift— both in movement and expression. Ryuji leans over Yusuke, scrutinizing him with what appears to be concern. "You're not, are you? You look pretty awful. And like, I don't got an eye for art, but that painting's looking kinda messed up."

"Then don't look," Yusuke shoots back, admittedly with an unbecoming amount of petulance.

That gets a put-upon sigh in response. "You're so _dramatic."_ But Ryuji, as he always does, softens the abrasive edge of his personality.

If Yusuke was in a better frame of mind to appreciate it, he would. But he's not. So he doesn't.

Ryuji either doesn't notice Yusuke's continued irascibility, or he doesn't care. "So like, is that... did you do that?" he asks, gesturing to the ruined painting. "Because if it wasn't you, y'know you got us on your side, right? I swear, if some asshole's giving you shit—"

"It was me." Acknowledging his own short-sighted actions only serves to get Yusuke feeling more irate. "Are you satisfied? As you can see, I am alive and well. Send my regards to the others."

"This is some art thing, isn't it." Ryuji's flat tone denotes it as more of a statement than anything approaching a question. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but it's definitely not working. Haven't you ever heard of taking breaks? When was the last time you slept! No wonder you're burning yourself out!"

"I'm not," Yusuke protests, chafed by the assessment; the implication of some finite quality to his creative pursuits... it simply can't be true. "I'm trying to maintain an appropriate level of productivity, as is expected of an artist at my level. What good is an artist who can't make art?"

" _That's_ what you're worried about?" Ryuji asks, with a grating disbelief and undue frustration. It's enough to get Yusuke to turn his head just to glare at his tactless companion. Not that said companion seems to take note. "Art isn't the most important thing about you!"

" _Excuse_ me!?" Yusuke jolts upright with no small amount of affront. As dense as Ryuji could be, he should know how important art is to Yusuke. At the very least, he should've been able to _extrapolate._ "How— how could you say that!?"

Ryuji doesn't back down. He puts a steadying hand on Yusuke's shoulder. A literal, steadying hand— Yusuke doesn't realize how precarious his balance is until there's outside support to lean against. Whether it's from a too-quick shift to verticality, a byproduct of his emotional state, or a side-effect of exhaustion, he can't tell.

"You're important because you're you," Ryuji explains. There's some undercurrent of... anger, possibly, but it's difficult to parse, especially since it's channeled into some belligerent concern. An incongruous combination. "Yeah, art might be a part of it, but you're not _just_ an artist, you're Yusuke. And I know I'm not the only one who's gonna be pissed if you end up in a hospital because you didn't know when to stop pushing yourself." Ryuji's grip tightens, but not painfully so. "People care about you more than your art, and if you're not gonna take care of yourself, we're gonna butt in. Got it?"

"Oh," Yusuke says, offense waning as something clicks into place. He's starting to get it, he thinks, though he'll need more time to consider what exactly he's getting.

As the silence stretches on, Ryuji looks more and more restless. "Well?" he asks, a little too aggressive to be anything but a prompt for some response.

"I see," is what Yusuke obliges him with.

"If you get it, come on. We're gonna take a break," Ryuji says, leaving no room for argument. "You get lunch yet?"

That's... a good question. One Yusuke can't reliably answer, but his lack of response seems to be answer enough.

"Alright. Here's the plan." Now that Yusuke's more amenable to hearing Ryuji out, Ryuji seems much more gung-ho about the situation. "We're getting you out of this studio, we're gonna meet up with everyone at Leblanc, we're gonna see if we can mooch some curry off of Boss, and you're not gonna think about art for at _least_ an hour."

"Fundamentally impossible," Yusuke says. Amenable he may be, but some things are just too much to ask for. Even now, he can't help but note the lighting that drapes over Ryuji, how the collar of his uniform curves around his neck, where the folds of fabric creases. He has a sudden urge to grab his sketchbook, in fact. Perhaps it's not a break from art he needs, but a break from this particular medium?

"No art," Ryuji repeats, as if sensing Yusuke's intentions. "And if you won't stop thinking about it, we'll just have to distract you." Ryuji grins with infectious exuberance. "I've been told I'm impossible to ignore!"

"An accurate description." Yusuke lets out a quiet laugh, one that barely qualifies as such. "Very well," he concedes, finally. "But first, I think I'm in dire need of a nap."

"Yeah, that makes sense. How long— wait, _now?"_ Ryuji exclaims as Yusuke leans forward, resting his forehead onto Ryuji's shoulder. "Are you kidding me!? There's no way anyone can sleep like this!"

Yusuke proves Ryuji wrong by falling asleep immediately.

**Author's Note:**

> hey yall this is based on Personal Experience during my art minor days when I got frustrated with a painting and smeared paint over it. there were many nights I spent lying on the floor of that studio. 
> 
> actually, a pal did something really helpful while they were staying up doing their own art, which was to cover up parts of the painting I wasn't working on so I wouldn't get overwhelmed. anyway, what I'm saying is art is hard and friends are good.
> 
> Oh I've been forgetting to make a note of this but you can basically assume that whenever I write Yusuke I hc him as autistic


End file.
